Corkbeg produced their worst performance of the season and crashed out of the County Cup at the hands of their local rivals Springfield by three goals to nil in a bitterly cold Pat O Brien Park, Cobh on Sunday morning.
The Cobh side played ‘’up the hill’’ in the opening half and with the aid of a howling wind. They completely dominated the opening 45 minutes and went close early on, when centre half Bryan Stack shot straight at Corkbeg goalkeeper Eric Higgins from close range. Stack went close soon afterwards when he headed narrowly wide from a corner and midfielder Connie Murphy drew a great save from Eric Higgins down low. Higgins had to be at his best again, when he pushed away an overhit cross that seemed destined for the top corner. Corkbeg offered little in response despite decent performances from Aaron Berry & Dylan O Neill, with Daragh O Mahonys speculative shot from 40 yards being their only real attempt at goal in the half.
The Springfield pressure finally told on the half hour, when skipper Ross O Donovan-Wyatt picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and smashed a rising shot from 20 yards into the top corner. It was two before the break, when a cross from the by-line was smashed into the net from 8 yards by Glen Kavanagh to give the Cobh side a comfortable 2-0 half time lead.
Corkbeg had a lot more possession in the second half and played the game almost exclusively in the Springfield half. But it was a game littered with bad passing and scrappy play; mainly due to the swirling wind and Corkbeg made little headway against a well organised Springfield defence. On the hour, Corkbeg had a boost, when centre back Bryan Stack was sent off by referee Jim O Connor for a second booking. But for all their possession and territory, Corkbeg failed to work the Springfield goalkeeper, with Stephen O Hallorans free kick being the closest that Corkbeg came to scoring; and that was easily saved. Aaron Berry continued to play well, as did Dylan O Neill, while Daragh O Mahony was probably Corkbegs best player on the day. But right at the end, as Corkbeg pushed on to try to get a consolation goal, Springfield winger Jamie Britton ran clear to slot past Eric Higgins to make it 3-0 and put the gloss on a deserved win for the home side.
Team: E. Higgins, A. Horgan, D. O Mahony, D. Creedon, S. O Halloran, A. Berry, A. Creedon, D. O Neill, J. Ryan, T. Tynan, A. Hogan. Subs: T. Smyth, D. Casey, R. Forde, L. O Brien, M. Leahy